Viola bow, gold - Kurt Gerhard Penzel circa 1960

Gold-mounted viola bow from the collection of a professional musician (Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra) – particularly suitable for violas with a rather mellow sound

Viola bow by Kurt Gerhard Penzel, ca. 1960: elaborate, high-quality gold-mounted workmanship with first-class playing and sound characteristics.

Kurt Gerhard Penzel (1929–2017) was a renowned German bow maker whose family roots lie in one of the most important regions of European string bow making, the Saxon-Bohemian music corner. He completed his training with his uncle Emil Max Penzel, a former employee of H. R. Pfretzschner. In 1948, he left the Soviet occupation zone and moved to Stuttgart, where he established himself as an independent master craftsman in the 1950s. It was there, around 1960 – before he moved to Ostrach in Upper Swabia – that he made this Kurt Gerhard Penzel viola bow. As an outstanding piece from the collection of a member of the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, it impressively documents the high artistic standards to which K. Gerhard Penzel owed his great success, not least among professional musicians. The original stamps on the stick and frog have faded but are still clearly visible. The medium-thick, octagonal stick made of light brown pernambuco has excellent elasticity; the center of gravity of the 70.1 g viola bow is in the middle, with a slight offset towards the upper half. The frog, made of exquisite ebony with a Paris eye, the three-piece foot and the valuable gold fittings leave no doubt as to the craftsmanship and musical quality of this beautifully preserved viola bow; a small discoloration on the stick is an insignificant natural change that our experts have carefully examined. The bright, soft, and open sound of the bow is particularly suitable for playing on violas with a rather dull sound.

Viola bow, gold, Kurt Gerhard Penzel, around 1960 – brief portrait

• High-quality gold viola bow from the early period of K. Gerhard Penzel's work
• Original stamp on the stick and frog
• Valuable gold fittings
• From a professional musician (Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra)
• Bright, soft, open sound, for violas with a rather dull tone

We sell this viola bow ready to play, tested and prepared by the experts in our workshop, with a 30-day return policy and under the Corilon trade-in guarantee. A Corilon certificate confirming the value can be ordered separately.